Joseph Calleja News

Los Angeles Opera always has interesting items online that help opera lovers keep up with their favorite art. Since the cancellation of Claude Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, Music Director James Conlon has written a blog telling readers why it needs to be played and heard by audiences everywhere. The blog also gives us a clip from David McVicar's production at Scottish Opera. Theirs is the production that was to come to us in LA. 

In the midst of this COVID-19 crisis that is gripping the world--and keeping so many people in quarantine--the Metropolitan Opera managed to pull off a brilliantly executed music coup. It connected stars, chorus members and orchestral musicians in an “At-Home Gala”--a combination fund-raiser for the Met with wonderful entertainment. And the technology worked!

For all you lovelorn, “live opera”-lovers, the Met is coming to the rescue from COVID-19 this afternoon, Saturday April 25, at 1pm New York time, with a gala concert featuring over 40 artists performing direct from their homes around the world.

Today (April 22) in live streaming: Legally Blonde cast reunites, Sing Street joins Richard Ridge and so much more!

It's never going to compete with the thrill of being part of the audience at a one-of-a-kind live performance, but there are a great many possibilities for enjoying filmed live opera performances that can be streamed for free online these days. The most exciting presentation to date is the Metropolitan Opera's At-Home Gala featuring artists singing from their own homes, or where they find themselves, on Saturday, April 25 at 1:00 pm New York time.

The Met has announced the Week 6 schedule for its Nightly Met Opera Streams, a free series of encore Live in HD presentations streamed on the company website during the coronavirus closure. Each opera streamed on Fridays will be chosen by viewers; the second Viewers' Choice title to be screened is Verdi's La Traviata, starring Natalie Dessay.

A day after canceling upcoming performances due to concerns around the coronavirus, the Metropolitan Opera announced that it would stream encore presentations from the award-winning Live in HD series of cinema transmissions on the company website for the duration of the closure.

A season filled with thrilling music, captivating stories, world-class singers, and exciting productions goes on sale by subscription Thursday, February 13. Eight new-to-Chicago productions, including three Lyric premieres plus two original Lyric productions, will entertain and thrill audiences from September 2020 through June 2021.

For the first time in decades, a fully staged production of Richard Wagner's Parsifal will be presented in Canada, opening the Canadian Opera Company's monumental 2020/2021 season with a company premiere at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Cast with more than 100 singers, an orchestra of 110 musicians, and a nearly six-hour run-time, this journey of one knight's quest for the Holy Grail offers Canadian audiences a rare opportunity to experience Wagner's thrilling final masterpiece in Toronto, in a celebrated COC co-production directed by François Girard.

What: Houston Grand Opera and world-renowned tenor Lawrence Brownlee bring together international stars J'Nai Bridges, Nicole Heaston, Reginald Smith Jr., Russell Thomas, Nicholas Newton and Kevin Miller (piano) for a one-night only concert event. 'Giving Voice: Lawrence Brownlee and Friends Sing Opera, Gospel, and Standards' was created to celebrate Houston's diverse community and showcases the power of voice and song. The intimate evening was the brainchild of Brownlee and Houston Grand Opera is proud to support this initiative. During the concert, audiences will be treated to a program that ranges from opera classics, to spirituals, gospel, and standards. All concert guests will be invited to mix and mingle with the artists following the performance.

Puccinis Tosca wird am Samstag, 30. November 2019 an der Wiener Staatsoper wiederaufgenommen. In der Titelpartie stellt sich die russische Sopranistin Evgenia Muraveva dem Publikum des Hauses am Ring vor, Joseph Calleja singt erstmals an der Wiener Staatsoper den Cavaradossi. Als Scarpia kehrt Bryn Terfel zurück an das Haus am Ring.

Three casts of captivating artists bring Puccini's classic tragedy of bohemian friends and lovers to life in Franco Zeffirelli's immortal staging. Tenors Matthew Polenzani, Roberto Alagna, and Joseph Calleja trade off as the exuberant Rodolfo, alongside sopranos Ailyn Pérez, Hei-Kyung Hong, and Maria Agresta as the fragile Mimì. Marco Armiliato and Emmanuel Villaume share conducting duties.

The Metropolitan Opera presents Puccini's La Bohème, conducted by Marco Armiliato, with eight initial performances beginning October 25, 2019. Ailyn Pérez returns to the role of the seamstress Mimì; her lover, the poet Rodolfo, is portrayed by Matthew Polenzani in his Met role debut. Olga Kulchynska makes her Met debut as the singer Musetta, while David Bizic sings the role of the painter Marcello.

Verdi's heart-wrenching romantic drama Luisa Miller returns to Lyric Opera of Chicago for the first time in more than three decades on Saturday, October 12 at 7:30pm. Enrique Mazzola, Lyric's music director designate, will be on the podium.

Verdi's heart-wrenching romantic drama follows a pair of star-crossed lovers who are driven apart by one man's selfish plot. The battle between passionate love and violent jealousy is set to thrilling, electrifying music. 

Iulia Isaev will sing the title role in tonight's performance of Puccini's Tosca, replacing Jennifer Rowley, who is ill.

The Metropolitan Opera today announced its 2019 20 season, which opens on September 23 with a new production of the Gershwins' classic American opera Porgy and Bess, last performed at the Met in 1990, starring Eric Owens and Angel Blue, directed by James Robinson and conducted by David Robertson.

A season filled with unforgettable music, riveting stories, thrilling singers from around the world, and stirring productions goes on sale by subscription Friday, January 25, at 10am. Six new and new-to-Chicago productions including three Lyric premieres and three performances of the Ring cycle will engage and entertain audiences from late September 2019 through June 2020.

The Royal Opera House will launch its first ever Cinema Festival on Monday 3 December in the newly refurbished Linbury Theatre in the heart of Covent Garden. Children can go free to all Saturday and Sunday cinema matinee performances and to The Nutcracker on 3 December. Launching with the live screening of The Nutcracker on 3 December and running until 6 January 2019, the Cinema Festival will feature 21 titles that celebrate the breadth of ballet and opera repertory shown in cinemas since our first broadcast ten years ago. Tickets on sale Thursday 8 November at 10am.